Mum who tortured 8-year-old son because she thought he was gay has been jailed for life
Gabriel Fernandez was beaten, starved, forced to eat vomit before he was murdered
By Steve Brown
A mum who tortured her 8-year-old son because she thought he was gay has been jailed for life.
Pearl Fernandez was sentenced to life and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre will be executed for the murder of Gabriel in California, The Sun reported.
The couple’s horrific abuse of Gabriel including beating and starving him, tying him up, locking him in a cabinet, shooting him with a BB gun and knocked his teeth out with a bat before killing him in 2013.
Fernandez, 34, and Aguirre, 37, would also ram socks in his mouth to silence his cries when he was locked in the cupboard.
Gabriel was also forced to eat his own vomit and cat poo all because they thought he was gay.
He was forced to wear girls’ clothes to school and they would beat him if he was caught playing with dolls.
When Gabriel demonstrated how to snort cocaine at school and arrived bleeding after being beaten with a belt, teachers raised the alarm.
In May 2013, Fernandez reported her son wasn’t breathing and said he had fallen and hit his head on a dresser.
Gabriel had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burns on his body and BB gun pellets embedded in his lung.
He died two days later of blunt-force trauma and neglect, according to the coroner’s office.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George Lomeli said: “I can only wish… that it tortures you.
“It goes without saying that the conduct was horrendous and inhumane and nothing short of evil.
“It’s beyond animalistic because animals know how to take care of their young.”
Fernandez pleaded guilty to murder in February and a jury found Aguirre guilty of murder last year and found he intentionally tortured Gabriel.
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami told jurors during their trial: “For eight straight months, he was abused, beaten and tortured more severely than many prisoners of war.”